WALTON ISLAND
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
Can land rise up out of the river to make a new place for Elginites to play? Well, that happened right here but it was man, not nature, that performed the magic. Up until the 1930s, what is now Walton Island was little more than a muddy patch of ground in the middle of the river. That's when the newly formed chapter of the Isaac Walton League spear headed an effort to enlarge and stabilize the island by dredging the river bottom and using it as fill to create a park. The league lent its name to the island.
In 2002, the island was again refurbished as part of the river front redevelopment. Did you notice that big flag on the north end of the island? That sculpture hearkens back to another American flag that once stood on the same spot. It was sculpted out of stone and cement by local artist Trygve Rovelstad in 1937. Internationally known, Rovelstad is the artist who designed the Pioneer Memorial Statue near the dam.
PLAQUE LOCATIONS